Houston ranks as top spot for young professionals based on standard of living
moving to Houston
Recruiting talent in the Houston area? Might want to share this tidbit of information.
A new study by two California researchers names Houston as the No. 1 place among the country’s 50 largest spots for college graduates to enjoy the highest standard of living. Why? Because, the study says, “local income is relatively high, cost of living is moderate, and there are no state taxes.”
Among places of all sizes, the study ranks Houston second in terms of the standard of living for college graduates. McAllen nabs the No. 1 spot, followed by Houston; Huntington, West Virginia; Beaumont; and Charleston, South Carolina.
In December, job website Indeed named Houston one of the 10 best cities in 2022 for recent college graduates. The 10 cities offer “many outstanding entry-level positions in a range of industries,” Indeed says.
More good news for Houston: The study ranks puts it at No. 2 (behind Buffalo, New York) among the 50 largest places in the U.S. for providing the highest standard of living for high school graduates.
According to the study, the five places with the highest standard of living for those with a high school diploma are Gallup, New Mexico; Summersville, West Virginia; Natchez, Mississippi; Graham, a town in North Texas; and Marquette, Michigan.
The study characterizes Houston and other regions as “commuter zones.” Each zone encompasses urban, suburban, and rural areas that feed into a single labor market.
As NPR explains, the researchers — Stanford University economist Rebecca Diamond and University of California, Berkeley economist Enrico Moretti — spent four years assembling and crunching data about the finances of 3 million U.S. households to come up with their findings.
“With their treasure trove of data, Diamond and Moretti constructed a cost-of-living index that paints a vivid picture of prices and typical consumption patterns throughout the United States,” NPR says.
That index puts Houston in a good light when it comes to the standard of living for both high school and college graduates.
“When we look at the factors that go into where a person chooses to live and work, overall standard of living and quality of life are critical components,” says Susan Davenport, chief economic development officer at the Greater Houston Partnership. “Houston today offers abundant parks and green spaces with millions of dollars in new investments, a world-class arts and culinary scene that continues to grow in global awareness, and the lowest cost of living among major cities.”
These combined attributes create a quality of life that enables Houston employers to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce, Davenport says. This, in turn, helps Houston woo employers seeking access to that workforce.
“It’s a robust and thriving ecosystem,” she says, “and it continues to work to our advantage.”